Carmageddon
Carmageddon is the first of a series of graphically violent driving-oriented video games produced by Stainless Games, published by Interplay and SCi and released June 30, 1997 on Windows PC and Macintosh. It has the dubious title of being a poster child for video game controversy. The game was notable for its realistic and ground-breaking physics, and for its in-game movie making features. It was also one of the earliest examples of sandbox 3D driving games, and may have influenced other later games including Driver and the Grand Theft Auto series. Gameplay The player races their vehicle against a number of computer controlled competitors, through locations including city, mine and desert areas. Each level has a time limit, but more time may be gained by going through checkpoints, collecting bonuses, damaging the competitors' cars, and by running over pedestrians. Levels are completed in one of three ways: Completing the course as one would a normal racing game, "wasting" (wrecking) all the opponents vehicles, or killing all the pedestrians in the area (with points awarded for style). The aim is for the player to work their way up the ranking system, from 99th place to 1st. Three levels of difficulty are available to choose from: * As easy as killing bunnies with axes * Normal everyday carnage * Harder than french kissing a Cobra Players earn Credits during races, which can be used to make instant repairs or recover the car (after falling down a chasm, for example). Credits earned can also be used to upgrade Armour, Power and Offense stats in the Parts Shop between races. This is also the time to switch which car they drive if others have been obtained. As well as opponents partaking in the 'race', some levels also contain a number of Squad Cars, which will activate their sirens and hound the player when provoked. They can be attacked and destroyed, but do not count as opponents. A single 'Super Squad Car' exists in one level, and it can be claimed if destroyed. Both regular and Super Police vehicles are unlocked for the players use when the game is completed. The game also had a multiplayer mode - Up to 6 players could play over a network connection. Plot The intro movie for censored versions of the game had a different voiceover and some alternate footage, in order to justify the presence of zombies as opposed to humans: The ending movie was the same in all versions, but the censored version had an added voiceover: Characters Carmageddon features 30 Characters, each with their own individual vehicle and three stats - Top Speed, Weight and 0-60 Speed. Each of these attributes leads to each car having pro and cons, such as fast light cars being very vulnerable to attack. The player can choose one of two characters to play as in the game. Some cars in the game are 'stealworthy': occasionally when an opponent has been wasted, a message will pop up to notify the player that the car has been added to their garage, free of charge. All cars are unlocked upon completion of the game, but those that were not earned are labelled 'CHEAT!' and have the same default interior. Levels The locations of Carmageddon are varied - races take place in mine shafts, the Arizona desert, chemical facilities, city streets and on coastal roads. All are populated by pedestrians, street furniture and parked/ burnt-out cars. The countryside features wildlife. Many levels have endless drops - if anyone falls down these (player or opponent), they are automatically recovered. Development Carmageddon began life in 1994 as a banger-racing game, but it was decided by publishers SCi that a license was needed to ensure success. The rights to a Mad Max video game were sought, but the rights owners could not be found. Development moved on based around a Death Race 2020 license - a sequel to the 1975 cult classic movie Death Race 2000. This brought in the 'running over people' part of the game. Unfortunately the license agreement fell through late in development; In near-final versions of the game, the .exe was still called Deathrace. Stainless decided to press on and create their own IP. Controversy The game was controversial at the time of its release, due to players being able to hit people and animals, and being rewarded for doing so. In many regions the pedestrians were replaced by Zombies with green blood; In Germany they were replaced by Robots with black oil. Downloadable 'Blood Pack' patches were quickly released onto the internet, possibly by Stainless themselves, which would restore the human pedestrians and red blood. Music The game featured a music score version of Fear Factory's album Demanufacture, with the song 'Zero Signal' being used in the opening theme. Modification The game is open to a significant amount of modification, and many tools are available for doing so. Many object definitions (i.e. a cars acceleration, a powerups duration etc.) and physics numbers are in encrypted text files, but these can be decrypted with the 'IWANTTOFIDDLE' cheat or external apps. Community-created vehicles and levels can be added, pedestrians can be re-skinned with new looks, and the audio can be changed. Expansion Pack & Compilation Carmageddon Splat Pack was the only official expansion pack, released in 1997. It added several new cars and levels, as well as enabling 3DFX support in Carmageddon. The two games were later packaged together as the Carmageddon Max Pack, which was also available in a Limited Edition. An unofficial collection titled Level Pack 8: Carmageddon was released, putting several community maps and utilities onto CD. Taglines Europe: 'Drive to survive!' US: 'The Racing Game for the Chemically Imbalanced' External links * Listing on SCi's Offical Site * GameSpot's Carmageddon Review * Review scores at Gamerankings * Edge Magazine's The Making of... Carmageddon * Thunderbolt Games article http://www.thunderboltgames.com/features/article/rememberingcarmageddon-feature-for-pc.html * Trivia at MobyGames * RCS' Carmageddon FAQ (V1.95) Category:Carmageddon games Category:Mac OS games Category:Windows PC games